Snowball's Chance
by Wushu
Summary: //KimSeven// Seven and Harry are stranded on an ice planet. They confess their secrets to each other before they freeze. But will they survive?


Title: A Snowball's Chance 

Author: Samurai Sushi

Code: K/7

Part: 1?

Series: Star Trek Voyager

Summary: Seven and Harry are stranded on an ice planet. They confess their secrets to each other before they freeze. But will they survive?

Disclaimer: Paramount/Viacom owns the Star Trek characters and their universe, I'm just playing with them. I'm am getting no profit from this work, only pleasure. (I think) The song is Matchbox 20's "If Your Gone".

A planet, the surface covered with ice and snow, was so white that it was only a giant snowball in the vacuum of space. There were no signs of life, nor could there be. The average temperature of the planet's surface was a cool -35°F in the full force of the planet's winds, with possible fluctuations either way. There was no movement, except that of the wind and snow, and no natural radio signals of any kind. Nothing to prove that the planet had life on it. All in all, it was a dead planet, floating in space. There were no signals and no movement other than other than the distress call from the downed Delta Flyer and the two figures making their way towards a cave roughly 1/2 mile away.

Harry Kim and Seven of Nine, wearing as much clothing as they could, made their way towards a cave, a 1/2 mile away, that could possibly save their lives.

"Ensign?" Seven had to yell in Harry's ear for him to be able to hear her.

"Yeah?" He yelled back.

"Tell me why we left the Delta Flyer?"

"We left because the environmental systems, hell, all the systems were off line. And it was going to get very cold, very fast. So we're heading towards a cave that could protect us from the cold and the wind."

"I understand. Thank you Ensign." She said.

"No problem Seven."

After that, there was no more talking until they reached the cave, a half hour later. The cave didn't offer much protection from the cold, but it kept them out of the wind. Inside the cave, Harry managed to find some rocks and surprisingly, a type of lichen that would burn. Moving to where he'd left Seven, he started to make a small fire to give some warmth.

"How are you doing Seven? you look a little cold." He asked, a note of worry in his voice.

"I will be fine Ensign. But, thank you for your concern." When she thanked him, he gave her the warmest smile he had. This had the effect of warming Seven's belly, and giving her a good, warm feeling inside.

"No problem Seven. But you can call me Harry. We're not on duty, not really anyway." He remarked to her.

Even though she said she was fine, intact, and cold, Harry didn't believe her. But she said that she was grateful to Harry as he sat down beside her. The small fire offered some warmth, but nothing like the shared body warmth of Seven and Harry who sat side by side.

Later as the fire started to die, Harry moved to throw the last of the lichen on the fire. When he moved back, he noticed that Seven was shivering and rubbing her feet.

"Seven, are you all right?" it wasn't exactly a question, but his concern was once again evident.

"No, I'm not alright, I can't feel my toes. And I can't stop shivering!"

"Oh! Seven, your cold." He moved to gather her into his arms, not romantically she realized, but to help warm her and share their body warmth.

"Yes, but my internal temperature has dropped to below my normal temperature of 98.6°F by 10(, and I can't feel my toes at all." She said the last part like a little girl who didn't get what she wanted.

"Seven! That sounds like hypothermia and frostbite. We're going to have to keep you warm until help comes." He stated, feeling bad for her.

"Ensign, your enthusiasm is misplaced. How do we even know if Voyager will find us?"

"Don't worry Seven, I left a message for them on one of the portable computers, the ones with their own power supply. So they should be able to find us." He said, not really believing it himself, but determined to keep Seven's hopes up, under his breath he whispered "I hope."

After several minutes of just sitting in the cold, Harry's spirits and hope started to die. He felt that this was all his fault, in light of his observation he started to cry.

Startled at hearing Ensign Kim crying, she looked up from the warmth of his arms to look into his tear reddened eyes.

"Ensign, why are you crying? You're wasting energy and heat by carrying on in this fashion." She stated in her Borg fashion.

"I'm sorry Seven. But I can't help thinking how this is all my fault, how it's all because of me that we're in this mess." He said through the tears.

"Your fault?" she asked, confused.

He nodded.

"Yes, my fault. And it'll be my fault if you are injured or die." He looked her in the eyes. "I couldn't live with myself if I let either of those happen to you. So you see, it's my fault we crashed."

"Why is it your fault?" she asked him, their eyes still locked.

He just shock his head back and forth. Seven, realizing how vulnerable Harry was right now decided to take a different approach to find how he was at fault.

"Harry, why is it your fault?" she asked again.

At his name he stopped shaking his head and stared at her. Realizing that this might be his only chance to tell her, he did.

"Well, for starters I'm the leader of this mission. But in the Flyer, just before we were hit by the Ion storm, instead of watching my console, I was watching you." This last part he said with some reluctance and shame. "So you see, if I were watching the console, I would have seen the storm and we wouldn't be here freezing." After he said all this he hung his head in shame.

"Why were you watching me?" Seven asked, her curiosity beating out the cold.

"Because I enjoy the way you walk, talk, and look. I enjoy everything about you." He said, the truth finally coming out. "And." He hesitated.".I love you" This he said because he thought that they would die on this planet, and felt she need to know the truth and his feelings about her before they both froze.

"You love me? But how can you? I am Borg, the Borg are not loved. They are hated!" she started to cry, so overcome by emotion at his disclosure.

"Wrong Seven! You aren't Borg, you're human. And I love you as human or Borg. Either way, I'd still love you. I'll always love you. But I'm glad you're not Borg, I don't think I'd like to be assimilated to get to know you better." He joked, trying to lighten the mood of depression that had settled on them.

After his confession, Harry could think of nothing else to say that hadn't been said. Due to having nothing to say, Harry was content to sit by the smoldering fire and hold Seven of Nine. He had to try to keep them both from dying of hypothermia.

As for Seven, Harry's admittance of his love had come as a shock to her. She knew that most of the men, and some of the women, were sexually attracted to her. She'd suspected that Harry still had a 'crush' on her, and she thought him to be over her. But his disclosure had shone her that he wasn't over her, but was attracted to her soul as well as her body. And for a reason she couldn't comprehend, she was glad.

As the last light from the now dead fire fell across the two young people, Harry and Seven had moved closer to each other to share the little body warmth that they both had left.

An hour later, when they both felt the icy fingers of cold death closing on them, Seven had only one thought. She had to tell this man how she felt about him, even if she didn't understand what she felt. She had to tell him before it was too late.

"Harry?" She said weakly.

At his name Harry struggled to open his eyes.

"Yeah?" he said, just as weak.

"I need to tell you something. I have to tell you that I love you as well." There was no hesitation, for the time to hesitate was through, only a statement of the facts.

"That's good to know. But I don't think you could have chosen a worse place or time to tell me." Harry was saying this even as he gathered her further into his arms and kissed her forehead. "Thanks for telling me Seven. Since we're about to die out here, I'm glad we're going to die together."

"As am I Harry, as am I." She stated just as calmly as Harry had.

The cold dead embers of the cold dead fire, had been all that stood between Seven, Harry, and icy frozen death.

As the two grew colder and colder, their bodies started to shut down. Yet during this, the cold caused them to fall into a sleep from which neither would wake. Even in this sleep, the cold couldn't freeze the fire of love that had been burning in their souls.

Before the sleep overtook them, they could both feel the icy hand of death upon them. Snuggling closer, they fell asleep for the last time, in each other's arms, glad to have died together, filled with love for the other, and not alone.

As Harry slowly regained conscienceness, he was aware of laying down in a bed.

"In a bed!" Harry thought as he slowly opened his eyes and saw the familiar walls of Sickbay.

Somehow, Voyager had found them in time to keep them from freezing to death. The Doctor had worked quickly, gently rewarming them and applying frostbite salve to the affected areas.

As Harry's perceptions fully awakened, he was aware of the Doctor in his office, humming what sounded like a piece from "Carmen", and of Seven on the biobed next to his.

Turning his full attention on Seven, he noticed how different she looked than normal.

Seven's color didn't look very good. Her skin was slightly gray and her usually red full lips were a faint shade of blue. The Doctor didn't seem worried so Harry wasn't. But, Harry sighed in relief, Seven was breathing evenly and strongly.

The Doctor, having looked towards the biobeds at Harry's rather audible sigh, walked out of his office with a medical tricorder and began to scan Harry.

"Ensign Kim. Glad to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling fine, but my neck hurts. How's Seven?" he asked and said all in one breath.

"Seven is fine, she should wake up any time now. I'm glad to see your fine. And your neck hurts because I had to inject nanoprobes to help repair some of the internal injuries you received. They haven't settled in yet, but they will. Let me know if your neck still hurts." The Doctor said as he injected Harry with a hypo to relieve the pain. The Doctor looking up at Harry's shocked expression added, "Even I can't do everything."

At the Doctor's statement, Harry had to laugh. He also had to admit, he was glad he could still laugh.

Just as quickly as it had come, his laughter died. His eyes settled on Seven.

"Oh no!" He thought. "What was I thinking when I told her I loved her? Easy, you were thinking that you were going to die without her knowing your true feelings.and you knowing hers." His rational mind took over at his irrational thought, the last was added sheepishly.

"Well, what's done is done!" he said in the merest whisper.

"Excuse me?" This from the Doctor who was still running tests.

"Sorry Doc. Just thinking out loud." Was Harry's one and only reply.

"Well, I'm happy to say that you are almost fully recovered. You may only need to be here a few more days." The Doctor said happily, finishing his tests.

"That is good news. Thanks Doc."

"Glad to be of service Ensign."

"Doc? How's Seven? Truthfully!"

"Well Ensign, the truth." The Doctor stated with resolution when he saw that Harry would only accept the truth. "Seven's Borg implants were severely affected by the prolonged exposure to the extreme cold. I have increased her amounts of nanoprobes as well. As I said before, the internal repairs are almost complete and she should awaken any time now." He said with sympathy in his voice. "Now, I'll give you something to help you sleep, you need all the rest you can get." As he was saying this he pressed another hypo to Harry's neck. They both heard the hiss as the medication was injected.

As Harry laid back, letting himself fall asleep, he thought of Seven and the confessions they made to each other on that planet. So It was no wonder then, that Harry had dreams about Seven the minute he was asleep.

As Harry was laying back while the hypo took affect, the Doctor was thinking that something had happened between these two. Something more than almost dying together, something much more important. He noticed it when Harry had asked about Seven the second time, when he had noticed that the Doctor was holding something back. If the Doctor was any judge, he would have sworn that Harry was more concerned about Seven than friends should be. What had happened between these two?

"Poor Harry." He thought when Harry was finally asleep. "He still has a crush on Seven. I wonder if she knows, and what her reaction would be if she did."

Little did the Doctor know or could he guess what had really happened when Seven learned the truth.

A touch on his shoulder interrupted his thoughts, turning around he saw it was Ensign Paris, arriving for his shift in Sickbay.

"Hey Doc!" Tom said.

"Ah, Mr. Paris. Could you finish scanning Ensign Kim?"

"Sure thing Doc. But, what are you going to be doing?" Tom asked even as he started to scan Harry.

"I'll be scanning Seven. now, please get to work!" the Doctor said at his sternest.

Everything had been going smoothly, when all of a sudden the warnings on Seven's biobed went off. Both Tom and the Doctor rushed from the console where they had been compiling data.

"Doc, what's happening?" Tom asked as they both reached Seven's side.

"I don't know. Mr. Paris, get her into stasis, fast!" The Doctor ordered.

As Tom was putting Seven into stasis, the Doctor took a sample of blood. He had to find out what was happening.

Seven's life depended on it.

"Well Doctor, how is Seven?" The Captain asked when she strolled into Sickbay.

The Doctor, at one of the consoles, looked up.

"Captain, I am happy to say that I have discovered why Seven's warning alarms went off. The nanoprobes had gathered in dangerous quantities near some of Seven's more sensitive implants. At first this had me worried, but upon closer examination I realized that these implants were severely damaged by the cold. The nanoprobes were repairing the damage to the implants and the surrounding area. Helpfully, they also repaired any residual damage from the frostbite and hypothermia." The Doctor sounded pleased at having discovered this.

"Is she still in stasis?" The Captain asked, after having taken all this in.

"No, once I realized what the nanoprobes were doing, I removed her from stasis immediately. The nanoprobes have returned to safe levels in all the damaged locations. She should be fully recovered at the same time as Mr. Kim."

"That is good news Doctor. How is Harry?" The Captain asked.

"Mr. Kim is almost fully recovered from both the internal and external injuries. He should wake up in about 12-24 hours, give or take. It'll take that long for the nanoprobes to finish their work, for now I'm keeping both Seven and Mr. Kim asleep with medications. They'll be medicated for the next 12 hours. Then I'll release them within the next few days."

"That's good to hear Doctor. Please keep me informed." With that, the Captain left Sickbay for the bridge.

Harry was standing on an ice planet, looking down at himself. He was holding Seven in his arms. There were arctic winds swirling around him, yet he wasn't cold. He was both observer and participant. He remembered laying on the ice planet freezing, holding Seven in his arms.

As he stood watching his counterpart and Seven freezing, he thought to himself that they were very still, too still in fact.

Slowly Harry moved closer towards the couple, as he neared he realized that they weren't just freezing, they were frozen, dead. As this realization hit him he staggered back a few feet. As he stood in stunned disbelief, the frozen Harry and Seven opened their eyes.

As he watched his doppelganger's mouth stared to move, but no words came out. After several attempts to speak, he finally made vocalizations, when he did he spoke only a few words. However, the words he did speak shook Harry to his soul. This other Harry's soulless eyes staring into his.

"You . failed to . protect . Seven."

Harry woke with a start and called for lights. He was disoriented for a moment when the lights didn't come on. As the disorientation passed he realized he was in Sickbay. When he realized this he slowly lowered himself back onto the biobed, and sighing looked over at Seven's biobed.

She was still slightly pale from almost freezing to death, but she was getting her normal coloring back. Seeing that he had indeed protected her, he sighed with relief.

"Computer time" He called out to thin air.

"The current time is 0230 hours." The computer responded in its monotone voice.

As Harry was relaxing to go back to sleep, the visions of the dream haunted him. Turning to look at Seven once more, he got up from the biobed and awkwardly made his way over to her bed.

When he was at her side, he brushed the hair from her face, and gently stroked her cheek just to reassure himself that she was still alive.

Reassured as to her life, he gently and softly placed a tender kiss on her forehead and made his way back to his own biobed.

Content in the knowledge that he hadn't failed he fell back into an easy, dreamless sleep.

I think I've already lost you

I think you're already gone.

I think I'm finally scared now

You think I'm weak - But I think you're wrong

I think you're already leaving

Feels like your hand is on the door

I thought this place was an empire

But now I'm relaxed - I can't be sure

I think you're so mean - I think we should try

I think I could need - this in my life

I think I'm just scared - I think too much

I know this is wrong it's a problem I'm dealing

The doors to Sandrine's opened and closed allowing Harry Kim to enter. The party had been going for sometime now, Tom said it was to celebrate Harry and Seven not dying on the planet, but everyone knew it was just to help everyone relax.

If you're gone - maybe it's time to go home

There's an awful lot of breathing room

But I can hardly move

If you're gone - baby you need to come home

'Cuz there's a little bit of something me

In everything in you

Harry looked around, seeing an empty table moved towards it and sat down to listen to the music.

I bet you're hard to get over

I bet the room just won't shine

I bet my hands I can stay here

I bet you need - more than you mind

Seven of Nine took the opportunity to enter the holodeck. As the doors closed she stood looking around at the party-goers, seeing Harry at a table she made her way there.

I think you're so mean - I think we should try

I think I could need - this in my life

I think I'm just scared - that I know too much

I can't relate and that's a problem

I'm feeling

If you're gone - maybe it's time to go home

There's an awful lot of breathing room

But I can hardly move

If you're gone - baby you need to come home

'Cuz there's a little bit of something me

In everything in you

I think you're so mean - I think we should try

I think I could need - this in my life

I think I'm just scared - do I talk too much

I know it's wrong it's a problem I'm dealing.

Seven finally made her way through the throng of people by the end of the song.

"Ensign Kim. May I sit here?" She asked.

"Sure" He said standing to help her with her chair.

Seven sat down as Harry pushed in her chair.

"Thank you Ensign." She responded automatically.

"Your welcome Seven, and Seven you can call me Harry. Remember we're off duty."

"I apologize. Harry, I appear to still be a little groggy from the medication the doctor gave me to help me recover from the after affects of the ice planet." She told him.

"I understand, still a little groggy myself."

After that there was silence between the two. Even when the holographic waiter came for their drink orders they did not talk to each other. Only after their drinks arrived did they even look at each other again.

"Seven I ."

"Harry I ."

When they did talk they both talked at once.

"Seven I think we need to talk about what happened and what was said on the ice planet." Harry said having finished first.

"I agree." She replied.

"Good! We should go someplace and talk in private." He told her.

"I agree again, however where should we go? The holodecks are all being used, and Cargobay 2 is undergoing repairs, it was damaged by a malfunctioning EPS conduit. There is much damage to be repaired, Lt. Torres said it would take weeks."

"Hmmm. Do you want to go to my quarters? I can't think of any other place that's private." He said, belatedly realizing what he'd said and how she might take it, he was about to explain when Seven spoke.

"That will be sufficient." She stood up to leave. "Shall we go?" She asked him.

"Sure, lets go." Harry rose and offered her his arm, which she took having remembered the Doctors Etiquette lessons.

Together and arm-in-arm they made their way around the dancers and towards the door. All together they made a memorable pair, singly they wouldn't have drawn attention. However as a 'couple' they drew everyone's attention.

As they walked through the holodeck doors no one said a word. When the doors closed behind them everyone started talking, even the holograms.

On the way back to Harry's quarters they remained arm-in-arm, drawing stares from those crewmen making their way to the party.

"So Seven, how are things in Astrometrics?" Harry asked to relieve the awkward silence that followed them down to Harry's quarters.

"I haven't been as busy as I have been in the past. That gave me time to work on research projects of my own." She replied as they came to a halt in front of Harry's quarters. They didn't speak again until they were in side.

"Welcome to my humble abode." Harry joked to Seven.

"Your quarters are . uh nice." Seven said in response.

"Seven, please take a seat, do you want anything to drink? Water? Tea?" He asked as she sat on the couch, and he made his way to the replicator.

"No, thank you Harry. I am fine the way I am." Came her reply.

"Computer, Green Tea, Hot." Harry ordered from the replicator.

After his order appeared he made his way over to the couch and sat next to Seven.

"Seven, we need to talk about what happened on the Ice Planet." He said.

"I know. I've been meaning to talk to you about that as well." She responded.

"Seven, we were freezing to death on the planet and I thought that we were going to die. I couldn't stand the though of dying without you know my true feelings. When I said I love you I meant it. I hope you understand." He added the last part as he looked up from his tea and into her eyes.

Seven took a few minutes to think about his readmission of his love. She knew that she had told him she loved him because that's what she thought he needed to hear. But now as she looked into his eyes and say his love for her reflected in them she had to think.

As Seven took her time to think, Harry took his eyes off her and returned them to his now cold tea. He got up and returned the untouched tea to the replicator. When he turned back Seven was watching him with a curious look on her face. Walking back to the couch Seven kept her eyes on Harry.

Seven watched as Harry got up and went to the replicator to dispose of his tea. As he walked it occurred to Seven that she enjoyed the way he walked and talked and the laughter that hung in his eyes. All the reasons he said he loved her she had as to why she loved him. She watched him turn around and walk back to the couch.

As Harry sat down, Seven realized that she needed to tell him the truth.

"Harry, I need to tell you the truth."

Those words from Seven's mouth cut Harry to the heart. He was sure she was going to tell him she didn't love him and she just said that she did so he could die in peace. Bracing for the inevitable he turned to look at her.

"Go ahead Seven. I'm ready to hear whatever you have to say. Even If I don't like it, I'll listen."

"Harry back on the Ice Planet when I told you I loved you, I only said that because that's what I knew you wanted to hear." She watched as Harry flinched from her words. "But I have been thinking and I need to know something from you. May I ask you a question?" She asked waiting for his reply.

Sighing Harry responded with dejection in his voice, "Sure, ask me whatever questions you want."

"Tell me again why you were watching me on the shuttle before we crashed." Her question surprised him and it took him a minute to remember what he said.

"I said that I enjoy the way you walk, talk, and look. I enjoy everything about you." He responded bluntly. The sadness still in his voice. Seven was sure that she knew why he was so sad, but she determined to ask him.

"Harry, why are you so sad? I can see it in your eyes." This question made Harry look at her with surprise on his face.

"I'm sad because I bared my soul to you and admitted something I've kept hidden for years. I've accepted the fact that you don't love me and probably never will." He responded, tears coming to his eyes. "I always held out the hope that you could love me the way I love you, but what you told me about the planet has shown me that I was wrong."

Seven sat and listened as he shared all his feelings with her. She was about to respond when his next statement caught her by surprise.

"Seven" He said, taking her hands in his, "I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to die in peace. Even though I now know that was to just spare my feelings, thank you anyway." He released her hands and turned towards his window and sat there looking at the stars and waiting for her to confirm what he said.

"Harry" She began, at the sound of his name he tensed, "I know what you must be feeling is painful, I've watched you long enough to know that. Harry, I need to tell you that even though what I said on the planet was true at the time I now see that I was wrong." She paused, trying to gauge his reaction, he just turned back towards her with the same look of sadness on his face, it pained her to see it.

She looked off to the side, trying to choose her words carefully.

"Harry, I do love you. I realize that now. I realize now that I too enjoy the way you walk, talk, and look, truthfully I enjoy everything about you as well." Seven turned around to regard Harry.

Harry looked at her with shock on his face. "You love me too? I can't believe it. I could die here and be happy." He said.

To Seven's surprise and joy, Harry grabbed her in a hug and kissed her fully on the lips.

"Sorry Seven, I couldn't help it. Are you ok?" He asked, having noticed the smile that now played at her lips.

"Harry, you made find this amusing, but I enjoyed that. I found your kiss very favorable."

"I'm glad to hear that Seven. hey Seven, are you feeling mischievous?" Harry asked with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

"Why? What are you planning?" She asked a little suspicious and a little intrigued.

"Just a little shock for those still on the holodeck. You want to come? I can't do it without you."

Seven pondered for a while then agreed. Harry just smiled and said he'd fill her in on the way to the holodeck.

Together they walked back to the holodeck, once again they were arm in arm.

Back in the holodeck, the party was still going strong with more crew members arriving all the time.

As the holodeck doors opened once again, all the occupants turned to see who the new arrivals were. They never knew who'd show up next, and each new arrival was more gas to the fire.

There was a collective gasp as Harry and Seven walked through the door, together, arm in arm, and grinning conspiratorially.

This from Harry was odd, but from Seven, it was down right strange.

They walked into the holodeck and Harry waved to Tom and B'Elanna. They continued to the bar, where Harry leaned up against the top and spoke something very low to Seven. She merely looked around and nodded.

Harry then took Seven in his arms and kissed her.

Harry thought he heard several jaws hit the ground, as well as a few crewmen.

When the kiss ended, Harry and Seven turned to the sounds of applause from the other occupants of the holodeck.

They were then separated for a bit of good natured mauling. There were congratulations and pats on the back all around.

When they were finally reunited Seven and Harry quietly slipped out of the holodeck and to Harry's quarters where they would discuss their future together. As they left they grabbed each other's hands and ran laughing to Harry's quarters.

The one thought that ran through their minds was that nobody gave them a snowball's chance in hell as a couple. Ironic that it took a giant snowball to make them a couple.

The End


End file.
